Zein Obagi Tapped to Argue Ninth Circuit ADA Case

Mar 15, 2017

Zein Obagi Tapped to Argue Ninth Circuit ADA Case

Posted By
Obagi Law Group, P.C.

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – On Thursday, March 9, 2017, Zein Obagi appeared
before Ninth Circuit Judges Paez, Berzon and Christen to argue for the
affirmation of U.S. District Court Judge Otis Wright’s denial of
attorneys’ fees to a “nominally prevailing” plaintiff
in Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) litigation.

A fellow USC Gould School of Law graduate, Aaron Aftergood, Esq., asked
Obagi to render Appellees’ oral arguments in
Rocca v. Den 109 LP, Case Nos. 15-56407, 15-56643. After a bench trial before Judge Wright
in C.D. Cal Case No. 2:14-cv-00538, the district court found that Plaintiff
Rocca had encountered 3 ADA non-compliant barriers at a Southern California
Denny’s. But, the court also found that plaintiff lacked standing
to prevail on 3 others because he did not encounter the barriers, or testify
credibly to an intent to return to the Denny’s in question, or that
those barriers deterred him from returning to the location.

Obagi – who, in college, traveled across the United States building
accessible amenities at camps that served people with disabilities and
supports the Exceptional Children’s Foundation locally – “did
not find it difficult to argue for the small business owners here. I was
defending Judge Wright’s opinion as the trier of fact in this specific
case. He identified just cause for denying plaintiff a windfall attorneys’
fees award, which the federal law recognizes as his Honor’s right.”

Indeed, Obagi avoided taking any position adverse to the interests of persons
with disabilities, writ large. In response to questioning by Judge Paez,
he responded, “It is absolutely OK for persons with disabilities
to go to places of public accommodation to discover and file suit [over
obstacles to free access]”. He argued the specific facts of the
case to support the district court’s judgment.

The Ninth Circuit records and broadcasts its oral arguments. Mr. Obagi’s
appearance can be viewed here: